Economy Grew At 1 Percent Rate In Second Quarter : The Two-WayThat's slightly less than the last estimate and well below the level associated with a healthy economy. The government says exports and inventories expanded less than it previously thought.

It now estimates that gross domestic product expanded at a 1 percent annual rate from the end of March to the end of June. A month ago, when the bureau last put a number to second-quarter growth, it pegged it at a 1.3 percent annual rate.

First quarter growth was even worse: a 0.4 percent annual rate. That estimate was not revised from the bureau's last report.

The primary reason BEA now thinks second-quarter growth was slower than thought: "downward revisions to private inventory investment and to exports."

One percent growth is well below the U.S. economy's typical 3 percent-or-so pace.